Saturday August 26 – Denali to Fairbanks

We had a 7.15am departure. We stopped at Nenana for morning tea and a comfort stop.

Here is the Nenana Ice Classic, which is an annual ice pool contest held in Nenana, Alaska. It is a fundraising event in which individuals attempt to guess the exact time the Tanana River ice will break up at Nenana. The "tripod", which actually has four supports, is planted on the river ice between the highway and railroad bridges in Nenana, 300 ft from the shore. The tripod is connected to a clock which stops as the ice goes out, moving the tripod with it. The Tanana River at Nenana usually freezes between October and November, reaching an average peak thickness of 41 inches. [from internet] If no one get the actual time, then the closest time either side of the actual time are declared winners. Shows how interesting life is out here! So – of course some of us had to have a bet (US$2.50), Lesley included! Who knows??

cranes

In the bus we watched a DVD on beavers – very interesting. We stopped for a photo opportunity at a view point to see Mt McKinley (Denali) in the distance. It is free of cloud, even if a long way away. 

We drove through Fairbanks to go to North Pole, a suburb or locality of Fairbanks about 13 miles north. This is actually a big Christmas store. They have missed an opportunity to have a log cabin with workshop to add to the charm. We had some photos taken with Santa, and bought several) no, lots) of things. We also arranged for a surprise for Harriet and Zachary.

businesses get with the theme too

letters to Santa end up here

We stopped in Fairbanks for lunch.

plug cars in to warm them up (in winter)

cars have electrical cord out the front

this is Farenheit, not Celsius

Here we went on the Riverboat Discovery tour. This was a river cruise with a difference.

staff waving farewell - taking a leaf out of the trains' book!

smaller sister ship

nice homes along the bank

this is a true log construction, with uneven logs sticking out the end.

First the boat stopped beside the bank to talk to the pilot of a float plane about his work and watch him take off, land and take off again. Then it moved further down river to stop at a musher’s place to look at his dogs and the puppies and how they are taught, then watched a team of dogs pull a wheeled sled around a long track. A retired husky raced along with them, them cheated and turned and ran back to arrive back with the team. Again, the dogs were all keen to go, each one leaping and barking to be picked. 

puppy training - get over the log

racing around the back straight

From here we went further downstream to turn around and stop at a demonstration Athabaska tribe’s village. Here the passengers all got off and divided into three groups where we heard talks in a round robin fashion. We then could wander around, see the dogs and talk to the handler. A huge clap of thunder overhead startled us all, and it was clear a storm was coming. Most of us went back to the boat immediately to avoid getting wet. The remainder got a little damp! Also on the way down we looked at the lovely homes on the river bank, and heard about some of the owners.

beautiful fur coat, hand made

log house construction - moss to seal it

caribou, appearing on demand with several others!

choice of transport

Tonight we had our farewell dinner as a group, as two of our group are leaving tomorrow. The group gave Laurel a card and an envelope of collected money (tip) for her services. She’s been great. We all said goodbye to each other, even though some of us will be seeing each other tomorrow on the Arctic Circle flights.